msk575 Posted January 12, 2013 #151 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Tyrasilverman Thanks for sharing your trip. Egypt was fascinating. We were unsure even the night before if we were going to call. Other ships had cancelled, but we we so happy with HAL for not doing so. I’m sure they were checking security, as there had been a breach of the American Embassy wall several days prior and embassy murders in Libya. A Cruise Critic group of 20 of us did an overnight tour with Egypt shore excursions, which for we singles was less than 1/3 the price of the HAL tour (same hotel), in a mini-bus. 3 hours from Alexandria to Giza the first day was a long trip, but there was a pleasant roadside stop. Our guide gave us lira to use the toilets (common in the middle east). Our destination was the pyramids at Giza. When we came around the corner it was a-maze-ing! Our guide taught us how to say NO THANKS to the “mosquitoes” of vendors trying to sell you something. “One dollar” they shouted for nearly anything they wanted to see to you. It was not unlike any beach in Mexico, and I found the bartering fun, but many people did not enjoy this part of the location. I bought some pens (10 for $5) and postcards. Could have bought a lot more if I’d had dollars. The vendors indicated that Americans are staying away from Egypt and they were happy to see us there. We saw Saqqra, with the amazing well preserved crypt paintings, which I still can’t believe aren’t covered. You can touch them! We over- nighted at Le Meredien Pyramids in Giza. Beautiful hotel, but I don’t think they can get parts to fix things. Of the three of us singles, one room had no electricity in the wing, my toilet flushed constantly and when I toyed around with the flushing mechanism I realized someone had put a bobby pin in it to hold it to the wall. We had dinner in the hotel, which had a lovely buffet for 180 Egyptian Pounds, , about $30, but we weren’t that hungry. I sat down to a table alone, which I guess in a no-no in Egypt. I wasn’t recognized until my two table mates had arrived. We had martinis and steaks, and it came in under $20 per person. Jeanne ate the salad, we had ice in our drinks, no problems. The elaborate buffet breakfast was included in the a.m. before our group was off at 8:00am. Today we were off to Cairo city center. Woah! 26 million people living here. Drivers have a sophisticated series of horn honks, and pedestrians wait by the roadside for mini-van shared transport, using hand signals to indicate where they are going. These vans stop on freeways to board passengers. It’s a dance, and everyone understands it, except the tourist. Most women wore the hijab, many in full burkas. Some wore very sophisticated clothing, and a hijab. Older women wore scarves tied at the neck. Many men wore the galabia, a long cotton or linen robe. Then there were the cosmopolitan office workers in trendy black pants and button-down shirts and ties. We headed up to the Citadel to see the amazing silver mosque. We were allowed inside, and it is elaborate and ornate. Just simply beautiful! We had a lovely lunch at the Happy Dolphin Restaurant, right on the Nile river. The buffet was varied and plenty. Drinks or bottled water was $2, diet coke $3. A visit to Tahrir Square and the Archaeological Museum was next, but getting there was a trip in itself. Traffic in Cairo is hectic, frenzied and constant, to say the least. As we drove, our guide answered every question we had about the Arab Spring uprising. The museum was filled with many important statues and relics from tombs of pharos and queens. The whole second floor was a portion of the contents of King Tut’s Tome (less what was on display in Seattle at the time), and the gold room worth the price of admission all by itself. Afterward, it was a 3 hour drive to Port Said, through vast desert along the Suez Canal. We kept seeing Maersk Line container ships, all in a row, kind of like a convoy of ships. What I didn’t realize until later, our ship was entering the flotilla and escorted out of Egyptian waters. I felt very safe the whole time in Egypt, and every person I came into contact with seemed genuinely happy to see us. Port Said had a long line of vendors as we headed for the pier, but the same old stuff we’d see for the last two days, nothing new, and we were cutting it close to departure time, so no shopping. I would highly recommend Egyptshoreexcursions.com for the lovely trip at a reasonable price. Far and away the most exciting part of our 16 day cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havcamwiltravel Posted April 4, 2013 #152 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Would it be better to stay at Le Meridien Hotel or to stay at Mena House Hotel in Cairo? IMHO - having been in Le Meridien and having stayed at the Mena House - you should not miss the opportunity to stay at the Mena House. For my full report, please see my post in this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1486840 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2cruise391 Posted June 29, 2013 #153 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Were they required or did Holland America furnish?? I have heard so many conflicting stories on this! We will be on a Holy Land Sojourn cruise RT Athens Oct. 28,2013 and will be in Cairo one day and Port Said the next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2cruise391 Posted June 30, 2013 #154 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Got my answer from a former HAL cruiser on another thread. Thank goodness! I don;t know why HAL could not have told me this correctly from the beginning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetgoat Posted July 3, 2013 #155 Share Posted July 3, 2013 (edited) We just completed a 11 day cruise tour with Holland America Noordam in May, 2013. As american citizen, no need to worry about the visa to Egypt. The cruise ship will take care of that for you to get a stamp/visa. I believe it is free, no charge. Edited July 3, 2013 by Sweetgoat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabear Posted July 3, 2013 #156 Share Posted July 3, 2013 disagree with above poster. We were just there with Regent Voyager in early May, 2013 and while the cruise line took care of the visas, it was at a cost of $50 pp. If you have the time & inclination, you can get them in the US for $15pp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonTowner Posted July 3, 2013 #157 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Visas for entry into Egypt cost the equivalent of 10GBP or 15USD. Mind you, I don't think too many holidaymakers will be needing them in the near future. A great pity what is happening there as it is a great country to visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisemom42 Posted July 4, 2013 #158 Share Posted July 4, 2013 disagree with above poster. We were just there with Regent Voyager in early May, 2013 and while the cruise line took care of the visas, it was at a cost of $50 pp. If you have the time & inclination, you can get them in the US for $15pp. Regent is just making money off you, then. I've been to Egypt four times on 3 different cruise lines and none of them charged me for the quick stay visa. It was explained quite clearly they are provided by the government, as they want (or at least wanted in the past) to make it easy for cruise ships to call in Egypt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellair Posted July 4, 2013 #159 Share Posted July 4, 2013 No charge again for our 2nd visit to Alex & Port Said in May this year onboard the Noordam. They processed the passports ok & I had enquired re fees beforehand & told that there will be no fees...Turkey was a different story!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark55twin Posted March 22, 2014 #160 Share Posted March 22, 2014 We are considering the Port Said Tour to Cairo for 7 people. We would also like to ride camels at the pyramids, should we just use a vendor there or can that be built into the trip as well? Thanks for your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smeyer418 Posted April 8, 2014 #161 Share Posted April 8, 2014 We are considering the Port Said Tour to Cairo for 7 people. We would also like to ride camels at the pyramids, should we just use a vendor there or can that be built into the trip as well? Thanks for your time. In my understanding the vendors there will try to rip you off as you don't know the language or the customs. If you are taking an organized tour your tour guide will be able to do all this for you at a reasonable amount, either by pre-planning it or taking you to their "preferred" vendor his "cousin". They will get baksheesh for this from the camel owner and you should tip as well. We stayed in Cairo a week before our organized tours and did sunrise at the Pyramids with Breakfast there by Camel. Can't do that on a cruise ship tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smeyer418 Posted April 8, 2014 #162 Share Posted April 8, 2014 this is whom we used. www.casualcairo.com and they can use the new email address of CasualCairo@aol.com she is still there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesssophie Posted August 20, 2014 #163 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Have booked with MSC and will be docking at 7 am on the 6th day. The ship goes again at 9.30pm. I have looked at the Ramses Tours website and they say that it is possible to do a full day in Cairo. They say on their website that: "We pick you up from inside the port next to your ship. Other unlicensed companies can not provide this service and guests are forced to walk 2 kilometers to the gate of the port". Is this true? Do they do the same on the return to the Port? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jegoodman Posted October 2, 2014 #164 Share Posted October 2, 2014 When I used Ramsey (albeit 4 years ago), we were picked up and dropped off right next to the ship. No hassles at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesssophie Posted March 12, 2016 #165 Share Posted March 12, 2016 We are interested in taking your day tour of Luxor, but our ship does not arrive until 08:00 on 20 April, and leaves at 23:00. Is this enough time for the tour? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessaz Posted July 14, 2016 #166 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Thank you so much for your review of Ramses Tours. what is the payment policy for them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul6453 Posted May 7, 2022 #167 Share Posted May 7, 2022 For our Egypt touring, we have contracted with Ramses Tours. I have just booked a trip to Cairo from Alexandria port, Rokaia has been exceptionally responsive. The contact is Rokaia. Email address: info@ramsestours.com 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiselov87 Posted August 20, 2022 #168 Share Posted August 20, 2022 We just booked with Ramses Tours (a day trip to Cairo to visit the new civilization museum and the pyramids) – they came highly recommended in Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckcruise Posted August 31, 2022 #169 Share Posted August 31, 2022 On 5/7/2022 at 8:13 AM, paul6453 said: For our Egypt touring, we have contracted with Ramses Tours. I have just booked a trip to Cairo from Alexandria port, Rokaia has been exceptionally responsive. The contact is Rokaia. Email address: info@ramsestours.com Have you travelled yet? How was it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drowelf Posted May 21 #170 Share Posted May 21 As a party of 6 we are using Ramses Tours for several excursion during our 2 day stay in Alexandria next March on the Celebrity Infinity. Part of our party is doing the overnight to Cairo for the museums and pyramids, while another part is using them for tours of Alexandria and El Alamien. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgtp Posted August 26 #171 Share Posted August 26 On 5/21/2023 at 5:33 PM, drowelf said: As a party of 6 we are using Ramses Tours for several excursion during our 2 day stay in Alexandria next March on the Celebrity Infinity. Part of our party is doing the overnight to Cairo for the museums and pyramids, while another part is using them for tours of Alexandria and El Alamien. For the Celebrity overnight. Are we allowed to not come back to the ship until next day? We are also looking at booking this trip for next year. And Ramses 2 day (1 overnight in hotel) Seems to be exactly what we want to do. Long time cruiser...but never have done an overnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dididi Posted August 31 #172 Share Posted August 31 Alexgtp, We took an overnight tour to Cairo from Alexandria. We were on the Azamara Pursuit. Eight years ago we were on the Azamara Quest and took an overnight tour in Cochin. Back then Azamara was part of Celebrity. For both instances we asked Customer Service what to do. We were told they would notify Security and our cabin attendants. That way, we wouldn't be missed that night. When we got back to the port, the gate officers showed us the passenger log, the one we signed when we left on our private overnight tour the day before. They didn't have the log from the day before. We tried to explain. They just waved us in. We had already showed them our cruise cards and passports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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